Boutique builder Death By Audio in New York is renowned for transforming familiar effects into portals of sonic mayhem. Their latest creation, Disturbance, wraps filter, flanger and phaser textures around a lockable low-frequency oscillator (LFO). Freeze that LFO mid-cycle and you step into suspended animation, where ringing harmonics hover and chords seem to bend in slow motion. Weird? Definitely. Wonderful? Always.
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What the Disturbance Does 🎸
Disturbance offers three modulation voices on a simple mode switch:
- Filter: vocal sweeps that range from auto-wah quack to synth-like formants
- Flanger: jet-plane whoosh, metallic combs and watery resonance
- Fazer: chewy, psychedelic phasing with eight stage depth
Tapping the right-hand footswitch locks the LFO wherever it sits, turning movement into a static peak or notch. Tap again and the motion resumes. Think of it as a stutter button for time itself.
Control Layout 🎚️
Four knobs invite endless exploration:
- Tensity sets modulation depth and flips from positive to negative feedback for two distinct flavours.
- Centre chooses the midpoint of the sweep, perfect for cocked wah tones when frozen.
- Width determines how far the sweep travels from that midpoint, from narrow pulses to full-range dives.
- Speed governs the LFO rate, from glacial throbs to tremolo-fast chops.
Because each control interacts with the others, small moves can trigger huge sonic shifts.
The Sound in Practice 🔥
- Slow wide filter glide: Low Speed, full Width in Filter mode delivers synth-like sweeps that make clean chords breathe. Freeze near the peak and you get a permanently bright, vowel-ish lead tone.
- Classic jet flanger: Medium Speed in Flanger mode nails vintage tape swoosh. Catch it at the top of the swirl for a shimmering, static comb that sits like a chorus.
- Psychedelic rotor: High Speed, narrow Width in Fazer mode creates a rotary-speaker pulse. Lock the sweep and you spotlight a nasal mid hump that slices through a dense mix.
Disturbance also loves line-level sources, so plug in a drum machine or synth and watch simple patterns bloom into motion.
Build Quality and Connectivity 🛠️
The rugged aluminium enclosure measures roughly 126 × 100 × 66 mm and weighs about 369 g. It draws 67 mA from a standard nine volt centre negative supply and includes a control voltage output so the internal LFO, frozen or moving, can drive other pedals or modular gear. True bypass switching keeps your dry path pristine, and the multicolour LED flips from green to red when the LFO is trapped.
Creative Tips 🚀
- Freeze on the beat: tap the right footswitch in time with a drummer’s kick to create evolving rhythmic accents.
- Parallel mixing: split a bass track, run one path through Disturbance, then blend it back for movement without losing punch.
- CV hijinks: send the pedal’s CV out to a delay’s time input; freezing Disturbance parks the delay in unexpected territory.
- Studio automation shortcut: record knob twists and freeze moves in real time, printing the modulation as audio so your CPU can relax.
Verdict 🤯
Disturbance feels less like a stompbox and more like an instrument. By letting you stop motion dead in its tracks, it invites playful gestures that reshape a riff or even an entire mix. If you crave pristine, predictable modulation this box may terrify you. If you revel in texture, chaos and happy accidents, Disturbance will become a trusted co-conspirator on your pedalboard.
Weird? One hundred percent. Wonderful? Without question.
